Self-expanding prostheses, such as stents, covered stents, vascular grafts, flow diverters, and the like have been developed to treat ducts within the body. Many of the prostheses have been developed to treat blockages within the vasculature and also aneurysms that occur in the brain. What are needed are devices and methods for removing embolic obstructions, such as, for example, those resulting in ischemic stroke.